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The Art of the Catapult: Build Greek Ballistae, Roman Onagers, English Trebuchets, and More Ancient Artillery
 
 

The Art of the Catapult: Build Greek Ballistae, Roman Onagers, English Trebuchets, and More Ancient Artillery [Paperback]

William Gurstelle
5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
List Price: CDN$ 18.95
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Product Description

From School Library Journal

Grade 5 Up–This collection of 10 working catapult projects offers a fascinating look at world history, military strategy, and physics, related with an engaging yet lighthearted touch. This historical context makes the projects all the more interesting. The working model of the Macedonian Ballista is cool, but even more so when one learns the role that catapults played in the campaigns of Alexander the Great. Instructions are clear, with full materials lists, helpful diagrams, and no skipped steps. Saw and drill are often required, along with hardware store purchases such as PVC pipe or specifically sized wood. Some of the finished results are large, such as God's Stone Thrower, a 5' x 5' construction with considerable flinging power, while a couple are smaller, tabletop-sized models that still propel successfully. Since the ultimate object is to fling things through the air, there is repeated emphasis on safety, including a first chapter entitled "Always Be Careful," an "adult supervision required" statement for every construction, and repeated warnings within the text. As for projectiles, water balloons, peanuts, and plastic cows are mentioned among "suitable ammunition," rather than the venomous snakes, cattle manure, or severed heads referred to in the historical portions. There's excellent booktalk potential here, and lively reading even for those who never get around to constructing a catapult.–Steven Engelfried, Beaverton City Library, OR
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Review

"Fascinating." -- Seattle Post-Intelligencer

"Puts the weapons in context of their times." -- Sacramento Bee

"This book is a hoot . . . the modern version of Fun for Boys and Harper’s Electricity for Boys." -- Natural History

Inside This Book (Learn More)
First Sentence
The catapults and related projects described in this book have been designed with your safety foremost in mind. Read the first page
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Concordance
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Front Cover | Copyright | Table of Contents | Excerpt | Index | Back Cover
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Customer Reviews

2 Reviews
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Average Customer Review
5.0 out of 5 stars (2 customer reviews)
 
 
 
 
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2 of 2 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars A note from the Author, Jun 15 2004
By 
William Gurstelle (Minneapolis, MN USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   
This review is from: The Art of the Catapult: Build Greek Ballistae, Roman Onagers, English Trebuchets, and More Ancient Artillery (Paperback)
Here is some additional information for prospective readers and buyers of Art of the Catapult, from the book's author.

This book has been written for readers aged 9 to adult, although younger readers will enjoy many of the projects if they have adult assistance.

Note: Adults will enjoy this book as well. As of the time this note is written, Amazon describes this book as written for readers aged 9 to 12. This is not correct, as adult readers will find it written for them as well.

The largest catapult project is a traction powered (human powered) catapult that can throw a water balloon or similar item a very long way! Most of the projects are somewhat smaller. Buy this book and enjoy throwing your weight around!

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5.0 out of 5 stars Great Book for those with a Backyard, July 1 2004
By 
Joseph J. Slevin (Carlsbad, CA United States) - See all my reviews
This review is from: The Art of the Catapult: Build Greek Ballistae, Roman Onagers, English Trebuchets, and More Ancient Artillery (Paperback)
I was really impressed with this book while sitting sipping a cup of coffee. Wondering to myself, how could I use this to have fun with my family if we lived in a space with, of all things, space.

This book not only shows how to make catapults of various types. It goes into the history of how the catapult was made or as it transformed throughout history. There are short vignettes about various historical subjects surrounding seizes throughout time and what types of catapults were used, what they looked like and how to build something like it using easy to but materials.

This is a fun book for the hobbyist who likes to tinker with things and how has a flair for fun projects (or projectiles for that matter.) I will buy this book when I get a place and I hope it sells for those who want to work with their kids on a fun project.

The Art of the Catapult is a fun romp....if you liked Lord of The Rings, you will like this book, putting catapults in perspective.

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Most Helpful Customer Reviews on Amazon.com (beta)
Amazon.com: 4.2 out of 5 stars (26 customer reviews)

47 of 48 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars Good mix of history of & instructions for building catapults, Sep 27 2004
By Henry Cate III - Published on Amazon.com
This review is from: The Art of the Catapult: Build Greek Ballistae, Roman Onagers, English Trebuchets, and More Ancient Artillery (Paperback)
This is a fun book. The author does a good job of leading the reader through some history of war focusing on the role of the catapult. He points out that historically there have been three types of military units, the hard hitting infantry, the fast moving cavalry, and then the artillery. I liked his description of the catapult: catapults make something big go whoosh and then splat.

The basic approach of the book is to cover the usages of catapults through the ages, and then show how to make a model the given type of catapult. It was interesting and informative to see the different types of catapults:

1) Tension - basically a big bow and big arrows

2) Torsion - using rows to provide the tension

3) Traction - using lots of people to pull on ropes

4) Gravity - using heavy objects, like lots of rocks

The book has a nice layout. The pictures and diagrams are good. The instructions on how to build the various types of model catapults are detailed and well written.

If you are interested in a brief history of catapults and/or interested in building some model catapults, buy this book.

51 of 54 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars A note from the Author, Jun 15 2004
By William Gurstelle - Published on Amazon.com
This review is from: The Art of the Catapult: Build Greek Ballistae, Roman Onagers, English Trebuchets, and More Ancient Artillery (Paperback)
Here is some additional information for prospective readers and buyers of Art of the Catapult, from the book's author.

This book has been written for readers aged 9 to adult, although younger readers will enjoy many of the projects if they have adult assistance.

Note: Adults will enjoy this book as well. As of the time this note is written, Amazon describes this book as written for readers aged 9 to 12. This is not correct, as adult readers will find it written for them as well.

The largest catapult project is a traction powered (human powered) catapult that can throw a water balloon or similar item a very long way! Most of the projects are somewhat smaller. Buy this book and enjoy throwing your weight around!


24 of 24 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent story book and manual., Jan 11 2005
By Armando "Armando Franco" - Published on Amazon.com
This review is from: The Art of the Catapult: Build Greek Ballistae, Roman Onagers, English Trebuchets, and More Ancient Artillery (Paperback)
This book is divided as chapters that begin with a narration of a battle or siege, and then and then presents the instructions on how to build several catapults. I learned my archetype of a catapult is an onagre, and that is one of the oldest kind, so I am severely obsolete. The instructions on how to build the models are very clear and easy to follow. The book is appropriate for young audiences, yet entertaining for adults too.

I built the onagre as depicted here. It can throw little wood blocks up seven feet away without touching the ground (it slides some more). In my first attempt the block would not go farther than one feet, and I realized the rope was twisting the thread in two different directions, and corrected the twisting. Tried it with different numbers and types of threads. In the end, using eight loops of candlewick, it snapped the wood where the nail penetrated. I will build a new one, using glue instead of nails, to see if it holds up better. Lots of fun!
 Go to Amazon.com to see all 26 reviews  4.2 out of 5 stars 
 
 
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